quick march Mil.
[In 1, f. quick a. + march n. In 2, f. (or altered to) quick adv. 2 + march v.]
1. A march in quick time. Also fig.
| 1752 Hume Ess. & Treat. (1777) I. 287 That quick march of the spirits..does in the end exhaust the mind. 1796 Instr. & Reg. Cavalry (1813) 247 The Quick March, 108 steps in a minute. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Quick march,..the ordinary pace is 31/4 miles to the hour, or 110 paces (275 feet) to the minute. |
| attrib. 1852 Dickens Bleak Ho. II. iii. 32 Softly whistling, in quick-march time. |
2. Used as a command to soldiers to march in quick time (see
quots. 1802 and 1833).
| 1802 James Milit. Dict., Quick..forms the cautionary part of a word of command when troops are ordered to move in quick time; as Quick—March. 1833 Regul. Instr. Cavalry i. 18 Quick March.—The command Quick, March, is to be given with a pause between the words, the word Quick being considered as a caution. 1887 Times (weekly ed.) 18 Nov. 2/4 The words of command were..‘Eyes front, by your right, quick march’. |